Triangular boat sail

ABSTRACT

A sail for a boat, and specifically a triangular sail ( 1 ). It comprises three extreme comers, head ( 10 ), clew ( 11 ) and tack ( 12 ), and three edges, a luff edge ( 15 ) linking the head point ( 10 ) to the tack point ( 12 ), a foot edge ( 13 ) linking the tack point to the clew point ( 11 ), and a leech edge ( 14 ) linking the head point ( 10 ) to the clew point ( 11 ), and furthermore, a regular succession of long battens ( 22 ) and short battens ( 23 ) parallel to the luff edge ( 15 ).

The object of this invention is a sail for a boat, specifically atriangular sail.

It is known that in sailing, the surface of the boat's sail must beadapted to the force of the wind and for this purpose the navigator hasfurling rollers allowing reduction of the surface by furling when thewind blows; the sail must remain as flat as possible to retain maximumstrength.

A triangular sail has three extreme points, the head, clew and tackcorners, and three edges, the luff edge linking the head point to thetack point, the foot edge linking the tack point to the clew point, andthe leech edge linking the head point to the clew point. The curvatureof the leech defines the curve of the leech, which is zero when theleech is straight, negative when the leech is curved inward, andpositive when the leech is curved towards the outside of the sail. Whenthe curve of the leech is positive, the surface area of the sail isincreased, which improves the performance of the sail and the additionalsurface is well-placed in the sail.

However, a positive sail curve causes flapping of the sail that reducesthe energy of the wind on the latter and decreases the efficiency of thesail. Additionally, when the sail is furled, the central part has toolarge a belly.

To remedy this inconvenience, document FR67984 proposes a sail,adaptable to any roller, that allows a reduction of the surface of thesail while reducing the belly thanks to one or more battens, each placedin a sheath parallel to the luff, so that when the sail is furled, thebattens artificially flatten it. Additionally, the battens hold theleech and prevent flapping of the sail.

However, the weight of battens installed along the full height of thesail decreases the stability of the boat and makes maneuveringdifficult. Furthermore, the battens occupy a significant volume whilefurling the sail and the available volume on the mast is often limited,which imposes the use of a reduced number of battens.

The purpose of this invention is to remedy this inconvenience byoffering a sail, and particularly a triangular sail that allowsincreased curvature of the leech without flapping of the sail andwithout generating problems of volume on furling.

The sail according to this invention presents a triangular shape withthree extreme points, the head, clew and tack comers, and three edges,the luff edge linking the head point to the tack point, the foot edgelinking the tack point to the clew point, and the leech edge linking thehead point to the clew point, and includes a regular succession of longand short battens mounted parallel to the luff.

The long battens will completely or approximately link the leech to thefoot while the short battens will be placed preferably at the upper partof the sail extending from the leech of the sail.

Additionally, the succession of long and short battens will be arrangedwith at least one short batten between two long battens. The sail willhave, for example, a succession of two short battens located between twolong battens.

Furthermore, to ensure the reliable mounting/effective interaction andprotection of the long and short battens, these may be inserted,respectively, in the long and short sheaths sewn into the sail.

The advantages and the characteristics of this invention will becomeclearer in the description that follows and with reference to theattached drawings, which present a non-limitative method of execution.

FIG. 1 represents the front view of a triangular sail according to thisinvention.

FIG. 2 represents a schematic view of a sail with positive, zero, andnegative leech curvature.

Referring to FIG. 1, one may see that the sail according to thisinvention presents a triangular shape with three extreme points, thehead (10), clew (11) and tack (12) comers, and three edges, the luffedge (15) linking the head point (10) to the tack point (12), the footedge (13) linking the tack point (12) to the clew point (11), and theleech edge (14) linking the head point (10) to the clew point (11).

The curvature of the leech defines the curve of the leech, which is zerowhen the leech (14) is straight, as can be seen in FIG. 2, negative whenthe leech is curved inward, and positive when the leech is curvedtowards the outside of the sail (1).

FIG. 1 shows that the sheaths (2) are sewn onto the sail (1) parallel tothe luff (15) and regularly spaced, alternating long sheaths (20) andshort sheaths (21).

Long battens (22) and short battens (23) are inserted in the sheaths (2)and allow the sail to be held in the wind, preventing its deformationwith negative curvature of the leech.

The long battens (22) have a length equal to the height of the sail attheir point of intersection and extend from the leech (14) to the foot(13), parallel to the luff (15); the length of each of the long battens(22) are arranged in decreasing order from the luff (15) to the leech(14) (or it could be: from the tack (12) to the clew (11) The functionof the long battens (22) is, on one hand, to hold the sail to preventnegative curvature of the leech, and on the other hand, when furling thesail, to artificially flatten the latter and limit the creation of toolarge a belly.

It is noted that the length of the long battens (22) may be defined sothat they extend completely or approximately from the leech (14) to thefoot (13); that is, in the latter case, leaving a space between the freeends of the long battens (22) and the edges (13), (14) of the sail,without affecting the function of the long battens.

The short battens (23) are of a lower length than the long battens (22)and each short batten (23) extends between two long battens (22) fromthe leech (14), parallel to the long battens (22). The short battens(23) will preferably all be of the same length.

The addition of at least one short batten (23) between two long battens(22) allows reduction of the overall weight of the battens and theretention of a sufficient number of battens to obtain a positive or zeroleech curvature, without, however, generating problems with volume onfurling.

Furthermore, it may be seen that the short battens (23) are placed onthe upper part of the sail; that is, in an area where the volume is lesssignificant on furling.

A sail designed according to this invention presents a surface nearlyidentical to that of a sail without a furling roller and can be used asa mainsail with pole roller, preventing, in contrast to classicmainsails with pole rollers, the formation of a negative leech curvaturewhile limiting the volume of the sail on furling.

1) A sail for a boat, and specifically a triangular forward sail (1)with three extreme corners, head (10), clew (11) and tack (12), andthree edges, a luff edge (15) linking the head point (10) to the tackpoint (12), a foot edge (13) linking the tack point to the clew point(11), and a leech edge (14) linking the head (10) to the clew point(11), characterized by its inclusion of a regular succession of longbattens (22) and short battens (23) parallel to the luff edge (15). 2) Asail according to claim 1 characterized by its long battens (22)extending completely or approximately from the leech (14) to the foot(13). 3) A sail according to claim 1 or claim 2 characterized by itsshort battens (23) being placed on the upper part of the sail, extendingfrom the leech (14) of the sail (1) linking the head (10) to the clew(11). 4) A sail according to any of the claims above characterized bythe succession of long battens (22) and short battens (23) beingdistributed with at least one short batten (23) between two long battens(22). 5) A sail according to claim 4 characterized by including a seriesof two short battens (23) between two long battens (22). 6) A sailaccording to any of the above claims characterized by the succession oflong battens (22) and short battens (23) being inserted, respectively,into long sheaths (20) and short sheaths (21).